“…Therefore, these parents should be considered as the best lines and tester in breeding program aimed to improve seed and oil yield of safflower. Specific combining ability effects is an important parameter for estimating and selecting superior cross combinations and measure of non-additive gene action which might be exploited through heterosis generally suggested for cross pollinated species such as maize, sunflower and rye (Ortis et al, 2005;Huang et al, 2013;Dehghanpour and Ehdaie, 2013;Goncharenko et al, 2013;Chigeza et al, 2014;Patel and Shrivastava, 2016). Beside of this specific combining ability effects can be used to select homozygous lines that show transgressive segregation for self-pollinated plants like chickpea, rice, alfa alfa, safflower, wheat (Bicer, 2008;Shukla and Pandey, 2008;Al Lawati et al, 2010;Golkar et al, 2011;Istipliler et al, 2015).…”